For Senate Democrats, Vote Revolves Around Women

WASHINGTON — Republicans have seized on gas prices as their motivating political issue of the moment. House Democrats cling to the Ryan budget as the document that is going to propel them back to power when voters recoil at its spending cuts. But the political weapon of choice for Senate Democrats is the plight of women, and they appear to have no intention of letting it go.

On Wednesday, three female Democratic senators held a news conference to denounce Republican opposition to the reauthorization of a measure to counter domestic violence even though the bill appears to have more than enough official sponsors — including Republicans — to get over the finish line.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.picked up the thread and also lauded the legislation — the Violence Against Women Act — which he wrote when he was a senator and helped enact in 1994 — and further criticized Republicans.

Further, Senate Democrats are planning to soon bring a bill to the floor — one that failed in 2010 — that would strengthen federal pay-equity laws.

Failure to get traction on these measures would “absolutely” become a campaign issue, said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, who runs the campaign operation of Senate Democrats and is one of those leading the charge.

“I’m worried that a few Republicans are returning to the playbook of obstruction,” she said at the news conference with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

The jockeying over issues that the dueling parties believe play to their strengths illustrates how Congressional leaders intend to use the House and Senate floors to drive home their political messages before November.

Still giddy from what they believe was a victory over Republicans in recent showdowns over contraception and preventive health care coverage for women, Senate Democrats — who, having failed to pass their own budget, have little standing to pound the budget of House Republicans — believe that Mitt Romney’s shaky standing so far among voting women is their best weapon against him, and his party.

The Violence Against Women Act, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee along partisan lines, would continue existing grant programs that aid local law enforcement agencies and finance shelters and other programs for battered women. It would expand efforts to reach Indian tribes, include same-sex couples in programs for domestic violence and allow more battered illegal immigrants to claim temporary visas, expansions that have made many Republicans unhappy.

Senate Republicans are working furiously to create an alternative bill, as are their House counterparts; Speaker John A. Boehner supports an extension of the law that is in place. “We are currently discussing the timeline with our members,” said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner, “but see no reason, other than partisan politics, that the process would become controversial.”

Democrats believe women will be largely with them on this bill as well as the Paycheck Fairness Act, which failed to get a single Republican yea in the Senate on a procedural vote in 2010.

“You don’t win the issues unless you try them,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate and the lawmaker responsible for shaping the party’s message. “If you have the public on your side and you keep at it you usually win.” He added, “My guess is Mitt Romney will quietly whisper to Republicans, ‘Stop being so extreme.’ So this doesn’t simply highlight how far right the Republicans are but forces them to move back to the middle.”

Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Mr. Romney, said in an e-mail, “Gov. Romney supports the Violence Against Women Act and hopes it can be reauthorized without turning it into a political football.” But she declined to specify which version he supported.

The bill — which may begin being debated Thursday — has 61 sponsors, including eight Republicans. One is Senator Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois, who is recovering from a stroke and has not been at the Capitol in months, leaving the bill with just enough votes on paper to skirt a filibuster. If Republicans allow the bill to move forward, it is very likely they will push for changes and still get in a tangle with Democrats, who do not seem of a mind to make many concessions on the measure since they believe that they have the upper hand politically.

If Republicans ultimately block a final vote in a dispute over amendments, Democrats would immediately turn around and accuse Republicans of sinking legislation that protects women.

A version of this article appears in print on April 19, 2012, on page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: For Senate Democrats, Vote Revolves Around Women. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe